KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said that the ban on congregational prayers across the province will be strictly followed for Friday prayers.

Shah requested that people pray at their homes and limit their movements outside from 12pm to 3pm in the afternoon. He also asked citizens to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in this regard.

“The purpose of the measures being adopted is to protect the people against the coronavirus,” he said, adding that the lockdown would actually make the lives of people safer in the long run.

“The restriction of the prayer congregations has been enforced to protect the lives of citizens,” Shah clarified. “The religious leaders have backed the efforts made by the Sindh government in this regard,” he added.

Leading religious scholar Mufti Naeem, while speaking to Geo Pakistan on Friday morning, said that if the government had decided to restrict prayer congregations, the people should follow the directives.

“There is a danger of a contagious disease spreading if people are not careful, therefore everyone should pay heed to the call of the government to restrict congregational prayers,” he said.

The Pakistan Ulema Council on Friday also urged people across the province not to resist government orders to restrict congregational prayers amid the spread of the coronavirus across the country.

In a statement released to the media, the council said that people should follow social distancing protocols and pray at home instead of joining large Friday prayer congregations.